he can't celebrate Halloween which i know because its a devils worship. However, i don't understand why he can't go to parties or celebrate his birthday.
2007-05-19 16:28:09 · 19 answers · asked by sarah . 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Jehovah's Witnesses believe strongly in God Jehovah and in his Son Jesus Christ.
Regarding birthday celebrations, bible students are encouraged to consider:
: 0% of faithful biblical Jews celebrated birthdays
: 0% of first century Christians celebrated birthdays
: 100% of birthdays celebrated in the bible were by debauched enemies of God (See Mark 6:17-29; Gen 40:19-22)
Bible historians (M'Clintock, Strong, and others) have noted that faithful Jews of the bible did not celebrate birthdays, and that ancient pagan birthday celebrations were at least partially intended to honor the patron gods of the particular day.
By comparison with such paganisms, the bible does not even tell us the birthdates of Jesus or ANY of his apostles!
Since such celebrations are not required in true worship, and can easily become a distraction, so Jehovah's Witnesses focus their attention elsewhere. In particular, they are focussed on the preaching work which *IS* a requirement for Christians:
(Luke 10:1-17) [Jesus] the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/index.htm?article=article_11.htm
2007-05-21 09:12:00 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a lot of reasons why Jehovah's witnesses do not do such things. A birthday cake's candles were originally used to ward off evil spirits. Birthdays have pagan orgins and God speaks unfavorably of them in the bible. As for parties, there is no real law saying you are not allowed to attend parties but as we have judgement, Jehovah's Witnesses will not get into a situation them deem immoral.
2007-05-19 23:38:42 · answer #2 · answered by Sara J. 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Well I and my family don't celebrate pagan feast days or birthdays either.. (Note: I'm not A JW) The reasons are simple really--birthdays come from paganism.
http://www.triumphpro.com/birthdays_origin.htm
http://www.logon.org/english/s/p287.html
Why celebrate if you're just getting a day older to death--think about it. If you read the section below; it will go much in detail.
CHRISTMAS
Note: ECCLES.7:1 = "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth."
Proverbs 15:27 = "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live."
CHRISTMAS
Christmas isn't Jesus's birthdate; it was the birthday of the sun god. Scripture doesn't mention Jesus's birthdate or any christians celebrating His Birthday. The only birthday mentioned besides Pharoah is the heathen king Herod. "Christmas" means "mass of Christ"; the celebration coexisted in Rome before there was any in Jerusalem. The early Roman Church however did establish a pagan festival that (Jer.10) coexisted with Jesus's Birth and that was the birthday of the sun god. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., article: "Christmas"). The Catholic sources admit that Christmas didn't co-exist with the earliest festivals. Jesus wasn't born Christmas; even scripture makes this evident. "On the night of Jesus's birth, the shepherd's were still keeping watch over their flocks." (Luke 2:8). The rainy season in Ancient Israel began after the Feast of Tabernacles which generally is early October. In November, it would be cool and wet; the flocks from the pasture had already been brought and kept in winter quarters by the shepherds. This tells us the shepherds were no longer in the fields at night. Another peice of evidence is overlooked is in Luke 1:35-36; it tells us John the Baptist was born to Mary's cousin Elizabeth six months before Jesus. And as we look further in verse 5-17, we see Zacharias an elderly priest burning incense on the altar and then an angel appearing to him and telling him that he and his wife would have a son to prepare Christ's Way. We know however when this announcement was made by the angel because of Zacharias was "of the course of Abijah" Please look at 1Chron.24:1-19; it tells us that King David divided these priests into 24 "courses" that served in the temple by rotation. The Course of Abijah would be the 8th of the 24 courses which usually would occur around the end of May. Pentecost came the week after the 8th course served and he had to serve all 24 courses during the three festival seasons. So Zacharias came home approximately after the first week of June; in which John the Baptist was conceived around mid-June and 9 months later would be his birth. John Baptist's birth came around mid-March while Jesus's was around mid-September. Also notice every year people claim 3 wise men seen Jesus in a stable; is this really true? The Bible nowhere states "3 wise men" or "that the wise men visited Jesus in a stable". Read for yourself: (Matt.2:11); these Magi came from the east beyond the Euphrates River which in the 1st century was called the Parthian Empire (the eastern border of the Roman Empire). Several weeks after Jesus's birth, the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, the king's palace searching for Jesus. The "star" in the east led them to take their trip to Judea. After hearing about the timing of the "star's appearance" from the Magi; King Herod ordered the slaughter of all children two years and younger(Matt.2:16). When Jesus was 40 days old: His parents presented him in the temple (Luke 2:22)(Lev.12:2-4). After the Magi came, the family fled to Egypt. {Jesus six weeks old.}
WHEN WAS JESUS'S BIRTH?
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/magazine/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine33&item=1104261794
http://family.webshots.com/photo/1342393463049373547FazWzQ
Are these holidays dangerous to people?
http://www.lcg.org/cgi-bin/tw/magazine/tw-mag.cgi?category=Magazine9&item=1103909093
2007-05-20 21:29:49 · answer #3 · answered by KNOWBIBLE 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He CAN celebrate all those holidays.
But instead, he CHOOSES to follow the teachings of the Bible as regards these observances.
Now, you can think beyond what God and Christ said, and say that they didn't specifically say not to celebrate Birthdays. Do you accept that excuse from your children, when they do something they know they shouldn't have been doing, but figured that since you didn't specifically say not to, than it must be okay?
2007-05-20 01:51:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He is not missing out on anything that would be displeasing to the God whom he worships.
If you knew your father would be upset if you left his home to steal a car from your neighbor would he be upset with you and discipline you for it?
Celebrations that steal attention (worship) away from the only true God Jehovah, is not something true Christians would want to do.
Adam and Eve did, and look at the mess we are in now.
2007-05-19 23:36:20 · answer #5 · answered by Here I Am 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Your best bet is to ask him, more than likely, no one else can explain how he feels quite as well as he can. I know that as a Christian, I choose to not celebrate B-Days because, among other things, the 2 times the Bible refers to it, it is in a very unfavorable light.
2007-05-20 09:09:12 · answer #6 · answered by Ish Var Lan Salinger 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Johovah's Witnesses believe that most holidays aren't "truly christian" because they are based on pegan holidays. a lot of the timing and traditions of holidays are based on pegan solstice celebrations. for example, easter is around the same time as the spring solstice and eggs represent new life, like the newly blooming plants and animals making babies and all that.
2007-05-19 23:39:43 · answer #7 · answered by ryn_fg 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The only birthday a Jehovah's Witness will celebrate is that of the Christ. And, even that is a purely religious celebration.
Namaste
2007-05-19 23:41:05 · answer #8 · answered by cudala 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I'll never be able to accept that part of the Jehovah's Witness belief. I can handle halloween, christmas, easter, but a birthday party? Graduation party? Jesus attended dinners and marriage feasts! It's not biblical, but then again they have their own bible.
2007-05-19 23:44:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
That's what they believe. Look it up on wikipedia. Search for Jehovah's Witnesses. There's a lot of things they can't do, like give blood, for example.
2007-05-19 23:31:14 · answer #10 · answered by Atticus Finch 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋